The 2023 juried Mazin Art Exhibit has announced selections for its annual exhibition which opens October 22. The long-running annual exhibit created by Bernice and Benjamin Mazin and funded by the Mazin Visual Arts Fund made a call for entries to any artist working with any medium. Out of 175 works submitted by 72 artists, 23 works were chosen by juror and Louisville-based artist Bette Levy.
The exhibit will open after an invited reception for participating artists where three artists will be awarded prizes. The exhibit will then open to the public and run through December 3. You can view the artwork on display in the Kohn Family Town Square on the Dennis and Judith Hummel Family Gallery Wall.
The exhibition is not open to the public, however, if interested in viewing and you are not a member of the Trager Family JCC, please contact Erin Silliman, esilliman@jewishlouisville.org.
Bernice Spitz Mazin was born March 26, 1918, in Chicago, Illinois. Raised in Ohio, she majored in art at the University of Cincinnati School of Applied Arts where she received thorough training in design and color. She moved to Louisville, Kentucky when she married Benjamin Mazin.
Mazin continued her education at The Art Center of Louisville. There she studied portraiture with Eugene Leake and painting with Boris Margo. She also continued her studies at the University of Louisville School of Fine Arts under Mary Spencer Nay and Carl Holty.
Bernice was accomplished in many mediums and her work ranged from realism to abstraction. The essence of her paintings is about the joy of life through color. Her art and her vision are and were about the beauty of light, shadow, form, line and the relationships of a wide palette of colors.
Bernice started this Visual Arts Juried Exhibition as a memorial to her husband and her dedication to the world of art. She felt that artists need a place to exhibit, as well as to be rewarded and appreciated. Bernice and her family started this legacy for future artists and this exhibition is done in the hopes this legacy continues to flourish. Our 2023 juried exhibition saw 175 submissions. Here you will see 22 selected works by our esteemed juror, Bette Levy.
Bette Levy, Exhibition Juror
For the past 30 years, Bette Levy has been a studio artist engaging in frequent solo and group exhibitions. She has two master’s degrees, one in art therapy and one in fine arts, and is a member of PYRO Gallery and ENID: Generations of Women Sculptors. Levy was a founding member of LAFTA (Louisville Area Fiber and Textile Artists), and a member and past board member of the Surface Design Association as well as numerous other arts and community organizations. In addition, Levy was director of the Patio Gallery at the Trager Family Jewish Community Center for 14 years. Initially, Levy was a hand embroiderer, using vividly colored silk thread on black grounds, in compositions abstracted from her own photographs. Because this work was so labor-intensive, over time she moved to other mediums that were more forgiving. Currently, Levy crochets or knits with cord or wire on rusted tools. She also works with stretched pig gut and spun paper. Her work with gut investigates primitive life forms familiar in her earlier embroidered work. An ancient Japanese technique, spun paper, allows her to create simple grids and geometric forms. Collectively, these three approaches result from Levy’s interest in maintaining craft skills in an increasingly technological/virtual world.
Thank you to Rachel Schmidt, our Art Handler, for her hard work putting this exhibition together in our space at the Trager Family JCC.
We are thrilled to recognize the 2023 exhibition winners!
1st Place – Debra Lott – “Divided Light”
2nd Place – Dru Pilmer – “Event Horizon 1”
3rd Place – Tamara Wilborn – ”Moon Shadows”
Honorable Mention – Dennis Shaffner – “Legacy Garden”
Honorable Mention – Manish Rajguru – “Hidden”
Honorable Mention – Heather Murray – “Self Portrait”
